Beauty

News about Beauty, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 9, 2014

Exhibit Body Conscious, at the Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at State University of New York College at Old Westbury, explores women's concerns about their size and weight (Metropolitan/Long Island). MORE

Feb. 23, 2014

Many young women are rebelling against pressure to look pretty by adopting trend called 'ugly selfies,' in which they post photographs of themselves online with exaggerated or odd facial expressions. MORE

Dec. 1, 2013

Several incidents in which women have been fired for their good looks have raised question of whether women can be too attractive for some jobs. MORE

Nov. 3, 2013

Gray Matter column by doctoral candidate Andrew Edward White and Prof Douglas T Kenrick describes their research, which will be published in the journal Psychological Science, exploring why voters prefer more attractive politicians; notes that their findings suggest that voters gravitate toward good-looking candidates because attractiveness is linked to being healthy and free from disease. MORE

Oct. 1, 2013

New York City's latest health campaign is taking on popular, unattainable notions of beauty for girls that are promoted by the media; city's advertising campaign, NYC Girls Project, aims to reach girls from about 7 to 12 years old, who are at risk of negative body images that can lead to eating disorders, suicide and bullying, with message that they are beautiful the way they are. MORE

Sep. 15, 2013

Some celebrities hoping for quick trim-down before an awards show visit LA SlimWrap for shrink-wrap treatment; reporter Brooks Barnes shares his experience getting treatment. MORE

Aug. 21, 2013

No one can deny the youthful allure of French actresses Bérénice Bejo, Léa Seydoux and Marine Vacth, but when a woman’s experiences can be read on her face, one man argues, it is then that her true beauty appears. MORE

Aug. 1, 2013

A new study, the first to try to quantify attractiveness after a face-lift, brow lift or eyelid surgery, found a tiny but insignificant increase in attractiveness. MORE

Jul. 17, 2013

Op-Ed article by sociology professor Michael Kimmel highlights Iowa discrimination case brought by dental assistant Melissa Nelson against her former employer, who fired her for being too attractive; contends that discrimination based on beauty is rooted in the same sexist principle as discrimination against the ugly, and both rest on the power of the male gaze. MORE

Apr. 19, 2013

Dove commercial focusing on notion that only 4 percent of women consider themselves beautiful is creating online sensation, getting more than seven million views on YouTube; ad portrays forensic artist sketching women based on their own descriptions, and then based on someone else's description, revealing tendency to exaggerate one's physical flaws. MORE

Aug. 19, 2012

Cultural Studies column finds that in America's looks-obsessed culture, not even busy mothers get a break, bombarded by the celebrity narrative of the mom as bombshell. MORE

Jun. 14, 2012

Ricky Kenig, founder of New York City's funky beauty-store chain Ricky’s, is planning to expand the store nationally. MORE

Jan. 6, 2012

New research suggests that more physically attractive members of Congress get more coverage on network television; research is based on on a survey of students, who rated House and Senate members in 2007 on a scale of attractiveness; to avoid skewing the results, they eliminated, among others, members in top leadership posts and presidential candidates. MORE

Aug. 28, 2011

Daniel S Hamermesh Gray matter column questions whether the unattractive should be given legal protection like racial minorities in light of studies that show that better-looking people tend to fare better in the workplace and in life than unattractive people. MORE